Garment retriever and stacker

ABSTRACT

A garment retriever and stacker for use in the manufacture of shirts or the like wherein the collar portion of a shirt is grasped and lifted away from a sewing machine so that the remaining portion of the shirt tails in a downward direction, the shirt collar portion is released, and the shirt is urged in a downward arc and packed into a stack of shirts in a generally horizontal attitude.

United States Patent Frost [54] GARMENT RETRIEVER AND STACKER [72]Inventor: Wade W. Frost, Vidalia, Ga.

[73] Assignee: Oxford Industries, Inc., Atlanta, Ga. 22 Filed: Jan. 11,1971 [211 App]. No.: 105,451

[52] U.S.Cl. ..112/121.29,271/1,214/1an s1 1nt.Cl. ..D05b 33/00 [58]FieldoiSearch ..1l2/l21.29,262,121.11,

[56] I References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,389,906 6/1968 Walton..1 12/10 X 3,314,675 4/1967 Rothfuss et al. .27 1/1 3,228,364 1/1966Kremer'et al ..ll2/l2l.ll 3,464,602 9/1969 Romansky ..2l4/l BD X FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 981,292 1/1965 Great Britain ..1 12/10 PrimaryExaminer-James R. Boiler Attorney-Jones & Thomas [57] ABSTRACT A garmentretriever and stacker for use in the manufacture of shirts or the likewherein the collar portion of a shirt is grasped and lifted away from asewing machine so that the remaining portion of the shirt tails in adownward direction, the shirt collar portion is released, and the shirtis urged in a downward arc and packed into a stack of shirts in agenerally horizontal attitude.

4 Claims, '7 Drawing Figures PAIENTEBncrs an sum 1 or 3 FIGI INVENTORWADE W. FROST BY QMAJM ATTORNEYS 1 GARMENT RETRIEVER AND STACKERBACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE In the manufacture of shirts and othergarments, it is important that the shirts be assembled from the same plyor layer of material received from the cutting room of the manufacturingplant in order to assure uniformity of color and other features of theshirt. The garment parts are usually marked with identifying bunch andply numbers in the cutting room, so that when the garment parts aredistributed to the various different sewing stations, the various partscan be identified and brought back together.

The garment manufacturing process is expedited if the partiallycompleted garments are maintained in numerical order by ply numbers andeach bunch is maintained in an identifiable stack as the bunches aretransferred between sewing stations. Moreover, each sewing stationoperator can conveniently retrieve the individual garments forprocessing through her sewing machine if the stack from which thegarments are retrieved is formed in an orderly manner, as with all ofthe collar portions, etc., oriented toward one end of the stack and allof the garments facing in one direction. For example, when a sewingfunction is to be performed on a shirt or similar bulky shapelessgarment, it is highly convenient to have the shirts stacked with theircollars oriented toward one end of the stack and with the shirt frontsall facing one side of the stack. The operator can then reach for thecollar portion of the shirt and conveniently lift one or more shirts toher sewing station from a stack of shirts to begin the sewing functionto be performed at her sewing station.

In the past, when the operator of a sewing machine at a sewing stationcompleted the sewing function on a shirt or similar garment, she usuallycut the thread extending back to her sewing machine and swung the shirtto an awaiting portable basket or pallet, and the stack of shirts formedby the sewing station operator was haphazardly formed and the sewingstation operator that subsequently performed a sewing step on the shirtsin the stack had to orient each shirt with respect to her machine beforethe subsequent sewing function could begin. This caused the subsequentoperator to lose a significant amount of production time andoccasionally caused her to incorrectly perform her sewing function.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I Briefly described, the present inventioncomprises a garment retriever and stacker which functions to retrieve ashirt or similar garment by its collar from a sewing machine after asewing step has been performed on the collar, move the shirt in anupward and lateral direction away from the sewing machine so that theremaining portion of the shirt trails below the collar, and release theshirt in an upright attitude. As the shirt is released, a stacker armengages the side of the shirt and pushes the shirt through a downwardarc toward an awaiting basket or pallet, whereupon the shirt isreoriented from a generally upright attitude to a generally horizontalattitude. The movements of the mechanism are uniform so that the shirtsare uniformly stacked with their collars placed at one end of the stackand with the shirt front facing one side of the stack. The shirts arepulled away from the sewing machine with enough force to break thethread extending back to the following shirt, and the sewing machineoperator does not have to perform any stacking function of the shirtleaving her machine.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a garment retrieverand stacker which speeds up the sewing function at a sewing station, andwhich uniformly stacks the garment at the sewing station.

Another object of this invention is to provide a garment retriever andstacker which is inexpensive to construct, which is easy to operate,which is reliable, and which relieves the sewing machine operator fromhaving to stack garments leaving her sewing machine.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent upon reading the following specification when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of thegarment retriever and stacker.

FIG. 2 is a detailed illustration of the grasping member and one end ofthe support arm, and the manner in which the grasping member firstengages a shirt.

FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are progressive schematic illustrations of thegrasping member and stacking member, showing how the collar is firstgrasped, lifted toward the stacker, the shirt is turned so that thecollar is flat with respect to the stacker member, and the shirt isreleased and moved in a downward are by the stacker member toward aportable trolley.

FIG. 7 is a schematic flow diagram which illustrates the control systemof the garment retriever and stacker.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in more detail tothe drawing, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout theseveral views, FIG. 1 shows a work station or sewing station 10 whichincludes a work table 11, sewing machine 12, garment grasping means 13,and stacker member 14. Sewing machine 12 is operated in the conventionalmanner, as by an air motor and clutch arrangement located beneath worktable 11, (not shown).

Garment grasping means 13 includes support frame 15 which includesupright stanchion 16, horizontal brace bar 18 extending between uprightstanchion 16 and work table 11, and lateral support bar 19. Support rod20 is rotatably supported in an upright attitude by means of bearing 21which is connected to the upper end of upright stanchion l6. Yoke 22 isformed at the upper end of support rod 20, and transfer arm or supportarm 24 is pivotally connected to yoke 22 by means of pivot block 25.Transfer arm 24 is adjustably connected to pivot block 25 so that theeffective length of transfer arm 24 from support rod 20 can be adjusted,when desired.

The distal end of transfer arm 24 includes open ended socket 26, andgrasping member pivot axle 28 is received and extends through socket 26.The upper end of pivot axle 28 is surrounded by sprocket 29, while thelower end is inserted in grasping member support clamp 30. Graspingmember 31 includes support pin 32 which is rigidly connected at one ofits ends to support clamp 30 and at its other end to support block 33,support bracket 34, grasping member ram 35, ram rod 36, grasping fingers38, and links 39. The upper ends of grasping fingers 38 are pivotallyconnected to support block 33 and the lower ends of links 39 areconnected to grasping fingers 38 by means of connecting tabs 40 whichare rigidly connected to grasping fingers 38 intermediate their ends.The upper ends of links 39 are connected to actuating block 41, and theactuating block 41 is rigidly connected to ram rod 36 of grasping memberram 35. The arrangement is such that when grasping member ram isactuated to urge ram rod 36 in an outward or downward direction, links39 cause grasping fingers 38 to open. When grasping member ram 35 causesits ram rod 36 to retract, grasping fingers 38 will come together andgrasp any objects positioned there between.

Grasping fingers 38 are curved at their lower ends and pads of resilientmaterial 42 are applied to the convex or inner surfaces of the graspingfingers, so that when the grasping fingers are brought together at thework table, they tend to gather the flexible garment material up fromthe table and then grasp or grip the material until the fingers aresubsequently opened.

Pivot ram 44 has one of its ends connected to transfer arm 24 and itsram rod 45 is connected to one end of chain 46. Chain 46 is wrappedaround sprocket 29 and the other end of the chain is connected totension spring 48. The arrangement is such that tension spring 48normally maintains grasping member 31 in the position shown in FIG. 1.When pivot ram 44 is energized, it causes its ram rod 45 to retract andlink chain 46 is pulled about sprocket 29 against the tension applied byspring 48, causing pivot axle 28 to rotate and to rotate or oscillategrasping member 31 about the end of transfer arm 24 through an arc ofapproximately 90 to the position illustrated in FIG. 5.

Elevating ram 50 is connected at one of its ends to upright support rod20, and its ram rod 51 is pivotally connected to lever 52. Lever 52 isrigidly connected at its other end to pivot block 25 by means of pivotpin 54 so that when ram rod 51 of elevating ram 50 is extended, transferarm 24 is lifted in an upward direction about yoke 22 at the upper endof support rod 20.

Turning ram 55 is connected at one of its ends to extension arm 56 ofbrace bar 18 and its ram rod 58 is pivotally connected to the outer endof lever 59. The inner end of lever 59 is rigidlyconnected to the lowerend of upright support rod 20, so that the extension and contraction ofram rod 58 of turning ram 55 causes upright support rod to pivot oroscillate and move transfer arm 24 between the position shown in FIG. 1and a position above and in front of stacker member 14, through an arcof approximately 90.

Stacker member 14 comprises pivotable stacking element 60, support rod61, and crank 62. Stacking element 60 comprises a relatively flatpacking plate 64 which is normally maintained in a generally uprightattitude by support rod 61 and packing plate 64 includes backward folds65, 66 and 67 which form a upper shield. Resilient pad 69 is attached tofold 65.

Crank 62 of stacker member 14 is rotatably supported by hearing blocks70 at the outer end of lateral support bar 19 of the support frame 15.Bearing blocks 71 are spaced outwardly from bearing blocks and functionto rotatably support sprocket 72. A continuous chain 74 is extendedaround sprocket 72 and sprocket 75 which is rigidly attached to crank62. Packing plate ram 76 is connected at one of its ends to uprightstanchion 16 and its ram rod 18 is pivotally connected to one end oflever 79. The other end of lever 79 is rigidly connected to the axle 80of sprocket 72, so that when the ram rod 78 of stacking plate ram 76reciprocates, axle 80 oscillates sprockets 72 and 75 and crank 62oscillates, causing packing plate 64 to oscillate. Usually a portablebasket, pallet or trolley 81 is placed at the bottom of the are 82through which packing plate 64 oscillates. The area 84 immediately infront of packing plate 64 is a garment release area 84 for graspingmember 31, and packing plate 64 is arranged to engage the side of agarment released by grasping member 31 and move the garment from anupright attitude through arc 82 to a generally horizon tal attitude onto trolley 81, as will be explained hereinafter.

Air ducts 85 are located in the surface of work table 1 1 behind sewingmachine 12 at the grasping area 86 of grasping member 31. Airintermittently flows through air ducts 85 so as to cause the garment inthe grasping area to pucker up or lift in an upward direction into thegrasping fingers 38 as they move together.

Electric motor 88 is supported at the lower end of upright stanchion 15and is connected to cam box 89 by means of endless chain 90 extendingaround sprockets 91 and 92. Cam box 89 houses a plurality of cams (FIG.7) which are rigidly connected to axle 94. A plurality of valves andswitches are connected to cam box 89 and open and close in response tothe movement of the cam in the cam box in a conventional manner. Thevalves are connected between a source of air pressure and rams 35, 44,50, 55 and 76 as will be more fully illustrated by referring to FIG. 7.

As is illustrated in FIG. 7, cams 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 and 107are rigidly connected to axle 94 and rotate in unison. Switch 111 andvalves 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 and 117 are spring urged into engagementwith their respective cams. Air supply 118 pressurizes manifold 119, andvarious air ducts communicate between manifold 1 19 and valves 112-117.Foot switch is located at the sewing machine operators position atsewing station 10 and functions to close an electrical circuit toelectric motor 88. When motor 88 is energized, axle 94 is rotated, andcam 101 closes switch 111. Switch 111 functions as a holding switch sothat when the machine operator releases foot switch 120, motor 88 willcontinue to operate, causing axle 94 to continue to rotate until theindentation of cam 101 returns to the position of switch 111, whereuponthe holding circuit is broken and axle 94 and the cams carried therebyno longer rotate.

Cams 106 and 107 are arranged to shift their respective valves 116 and117 immediately after motor 88 is energized. Air is taken from aposition immediately downstream of the air supply 118 through valve 117to air ducts 85 at the grasping area of work table 11. Air from manifold119 passes through valve 1 16 and causes grasping member ram 35 toretract its ram rod 36, thereby causing grasping member 31 to move itsgrasping fingers '38 together or to close or grip or grasp a garment atgrasping area 86.

shift their respective valves 114 and l 15, causing pressurized air toflow from manifold 1 19 to elevating ram 50 and turning ram 55.Elevating ram extends its ram rod 51 while turning ram retracts its ramrod 58, thus causing transfer arm to move in an upward and lateraldirection, generally through an are from the grasping area 86 of worktable 11 toward garment release area 84 at stacker member 14.

As axle 94 continues to rotate, cam 107 shifts its valve 117 toterminate the flow of air through air ducts 85 in the grasping area ofthe work table, and cam 103 shifts its valve 113. Air then flows frommanifold 119 through valve 113 to pivot ram 44 causing ram rod 45 toretract and pivot grasping member 31 about socket 26 at the end oftransfer arm 24.

As axle 94 continues to rotate, cam 106 allows its valve 1 16 to returnto its original position and cam 102 shifts its valve 112. These valvesare shifted simultaneously so that grasping member ram 35 causesgrasping member 31 to release the garment as packing plate ram extendsits ram rod 78, causing packing plate 64 to move in a downward arc 82through garment release area 84 and carry the released garment with it.An additional air flow regulator is placed in the line upstream fromvalve 112 so that both the speed and force of the packing plate in itsupward and downward movements can be regulated.

As axle 94 continues to rotate, cams 104, 105 and 103 cause theirrespective valves 114, 115 and 113 to shift back to their originalpositions, thus reversing elevating ram 50, turning rams 55 and pivotram 44, causing transfer arm 24 to begin its movement back toward itsoriginal position at grasping area 86 of work table 11 and graspingmember to pivot back to its ready position. Shortly thereafter, cam 102shifts its valve 112 and causes ram 76 to oscillate packing plate 64back to its upright position. By the time axle 94 has rotated through360 the cycle of all the movements will have been completed, and cam 101of micro switch 111 will cause the micro switch to open, thereby openingthe holding circuit made to electric motor 88. The system then restsuntil the sewing machine operator presses her foot switch 120 to startthe cycle again.

As is illustrated in the sequence of operation in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5 and6, grasping member 31 is normally positioned immediately above thegrasping area 86 on the work table, so that when the sewing machineoperator finishes the sewing function on the collar 121 of a shirt 120,the grasping member 31 will be located just above the collar and itsgrasping fingers 38 will be in alignment with the collar. Guide shield122 is attached to the work table and is located so that when the sewingmachine operator pushes the tail and body portion of the shirt out ofher way toward the rear edge of the work table, the collar 121 willgenerally remain beneath grasping member 31.

When the sewing machine operator closes her foot switch 120 to actuategarment grasping member 13, grasping fingers 38 will pivot toward eachother through downward arcs and their pads 42 will engage the collar 121on opposite sides of the center of the collar while air ducts 85 directa stream of air in an upward direction intermediate the ends of thecollar, causing the collar to fold upwardly. As the grasping fingerscontinue to close, the collar is lifted as illustrated in FIG. 3 andgrasped as illustrated in FIG. 4.

As is illustrated in FIG. 4, transfer arm 24 moves in an upward andlateral direction, generally through an arc about upright support rod20, (FIG. 1) toward garment release area 84 at packing plate 64 ofstacker member 14. In order that the shirts be stacked with theircollars oriented with the folds extending in a generally horizontalplane, or in a generally flate configuration, the shirt which is hangingfrom its collar is pivoted about the end of transfer arm 24 asillustrated by arrow 125 in FIG. 5.

When grasping member 31 releases shirt 120, packing plate 64 moves inthe direction indicated by arrow 82 through an arc of approximately froma generally upright attitude toward a generally horizontal attitude, andengages the side of the shirt and urges the shirt from its uprightattitude to the horizontal attitude illustrated in FIG. 6. As a shirtmoves through the are 82, it will move toward trolley 81, and assubsequent shirts are handled in this manner they are arranged in astack 126 that has all of the collars 121 folded intermediate theirends, arranged flat at one end of the stack and facing in the properdirection. Under normal circumstances, the stack 126 will be neatlyformed and all of the shirts will be in the predetermined position whichis proper for retrieval by the operator at a subsequent sewing station.

While this particular stacker member 14 and garment grasping member 13have been illustrated as being used at a sewing station where the collarconnect function in a shirt making processing is performed, it will beunderstood that the garment grasping means and stacker member can beutilized at the collar finish sewing station, or at virtually any sewingstation where a sewing function is performed on a collar. The graspingmember 31 has been constructed so as to specifically grasp shirt collarsand the movement of garment grasping member 13 has been arranged so asto trail the lower portion of the shirt in a downward directiongenerally behind the collar as the shirt is lifted or moved away fromgrasping area 86 toward release area 84. This is so the shirt will beproperly oriented for lateral and downward engagement by stacker member14. The arrangement is desirable for rather long garments, such asshirts, trousers or ladies dresses, etc. These larger garments aresomewhat shapeless and cumbersome to handle at the various garment partsconnecting stages in the garment manufacturing process, and it is highlydesirable to have the garments properly stacked for subsequent sewingoperation.

While the garment grasping means 13 and stacker member 14 have beenspecifically disclosed as being used in connection with shirt makingsteps, it will be understood that the grasping member 31 can be adjustedor modified to grasp other garments, particularly pants, by changing theshape of grasping fingers 38. Moreover, stacker member 14 can be usedwithout modification to move pants through the downward are 82 to astack 126 if desired. Of course, packing plate 64 not only functions tomove the garment through the are 82, but also functions to pack thegarment in the stack, which is a desirable feature for the lightermaterial which might be used in shirts, etc.

While the invention has been described in detail with particularreference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understoodthat'variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit andscope of the invention as described hereinbefore and as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. In a method of manufacturing shirts or the like, the steps ofperforming a sewing function on the collar of the shirt with a sewingmachine, gathering the ends of the collar downwardly together about theneck portion of the shirt, lifting the collar in an upwardly inclineddirection away from the sewing machine while trailing the remainingportion of the shirt in a downward direction, and orienting the shirt ina general horizontal attitude with the collar folded intermediate itsends.

2 In a method of manufacturing shirts or the like having collarsattached thereto, the steps of:

performing a sewing function on the collar of a shirt,

sequentially grasping and moving the collar of the shirt away from thesewing machine while trailing the remaining portion of the shirt in anapproximately vertical attitude below the collar, releasing the shirt,and engaging and moving the shirt in a downward arc to an approximatelyhorizontal attitude in a stack of shirts.

3. Apparatus for stacking garment parts or the like at a sewing machinecomprising a garment grasping member, a support arm connected at one ofits ends to said grasping member and arranged to move said graspingmember between said sewing machine and a garment release area, astacking member movable between the garment release area and stackingarea, fluid powered control means comprising a first ram member forclosing and opening said grasping member, a second ram member for movingsaid support arm in an upward direction, a third ram member for movingsaid support arm laterally away from said sewing machine, and a fourthram member for moving said stacking member between the garment releasearea and the stacking area, said fust, second, third and fourth rarnmembers being constructed and arranged for sequentially causing saidgrasping member to grasp a garment at the sewing machine, causing saidsupport arm, grasping member and garment to move to the release area,causing said grasping member to release the garment and causing saidstacking member to move the garment from the release area to thestacking area.

4. The apparatus for stacking shirts or the like received from a sewingmachine comprising a garment grasping member for grasping the collarportion of a shirt, a support member connected to said grasping memberand arranged to move said grasping member and the shirt grasped by saidgrasping member away from the sewing machine to a garment release areawhile trailing the portion of the shirt below the collar portiondownwardly below the collar portion, a stacking member movable through adownward are between the garment release area and a stacking area belowthe garment release area, control means connected to said graspingmember, support member and stacking member for sequentially causing saidgrasping member to grasp a garment at the sewing machine, moving thesupport arm, grasping member and garment to the release area, and thensimultaneously causing said grasping member to release the garment inthe release area and causing said stacking member to engage the garmentand move the garment from the release area through a downward arc to thestacking area.

1. In a method of manufacturing shirts or the like, the steps ofperforming a sewing function on the collar of the shirt with a sewingmachine, gathering the ends of the collar downwardly together about theneck portion of the shirt, lifting the collar in an upwardly inclineddirection away from the sewing machine while trailing the remainingportion of the shirt in a downward direction, and orienting the shirt ina generally horizontal attitude with the collar folded intermediate itsends.
 2. In a method of manufacturing shirts or the like having collarsattached thereto, the steps of: performing a sewing function on thecollar of a shirt, sequentially grasping and moving the collar of theshirt away from the sewing machine while trailing the remaining portionof the shirt in an approximately vertical attitude below the collar,releasing the shirt, and engaging and moving the shirt in a downward arcto an approximately horizontal attitude in a stack of shirts. 3.Apparatus for stacking garment parts or the like at a sewing machinecomprising a garment grasping member, a support arm connected at one ofits ends to said grasping member and arranged to move said graspingmember between said sewing machine and a garment release area, astacking member movable between the garment release area and stackingarea, fluid powered control means comprising a first ram member forclosing and opening said grasping member, a second ram member for movingsaid support arm in an upward direction, a third ram member for movingsaid support arm laterally away from said sewing machine, and a fourthram member for moving said stacking member between the garment releasearea and the stacking area, said first, second, third and fourth rammembers being constructed and arranged for sequentially causing saidgrasping member to grasp a garment at the sewing machine, causing saidsupport arm, grasping member and garment to move to the release area,causing said grasping member to release the garment and causing saidstacking member to move the garment from the release area to thestacking area.
 4. The apparatus for stacking shirts or the like receivedfrom a sewing machine comprising a garment grasping member for graspingthe collar portion of a shirt, a support member connected to saidgrasping member and arranged to move said grasping member and the shirtgrasped by said grasping member away from the sewing machine to agarment release area while trailing the portion of the shirt below thecollar portion downwardly below the collar portion, a stacking membermovable through a downward arc between the garment release area and astacking area below the garment release area, control means connected tosaid grasping member, support member and stacking member forsequentially causing said grasping member to grasp a garment at thesewing machine, moving the support arm, grasping member and garment tothe release area, and then simultaneously causing said grasping memberto release the garment in the release area and causing said stackingmember to engage the garment and move the garment from the release areathrough a downward arc to the stacking area.